Viewpoints: Despite Drop In Uninsured, Poor Americans Need Help; Trump’s Plan For Moms
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
The Washington Post:
A Tightening Labor Market And Obamacare Delivered Income Growth And Health Coverage To Working Families In 2015
Poverty fell sharply, middle-class incomes rose steeply, and more people had health coverage last year, according to Tuesday’s report on household economic conditions from the Census Bureau — the best evidence to date that the growing economy is finally reaching households that had been left behind. (Jared Bernstein, 9/13)
Huffington Post:
Average Americans Just Got A Huge Income Boost
The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released its annual report on income, poverty and health insurance. Every year, the report serves as a key benchmark for how the American people are doing economically. ... Median income still hasn’t reached its pre-recession level. And although more and more Americans have protection against steep medical bills, thanks to Obamacare, millions still struggle with the combined effect of high premiums and high out-of-pocket expenses. In fact, medical bills are a major reason that America’s poverty rate, although lower than it was last year, remains higher than it is in other developed nations. (Jonathan Cohn, 9/13)
The New York Times:
Not Yet Talking About the Poor
There have been notable improvements in three crucial measures of economic well-being: income, poverty and health insurance coverage. On Tuesday, the Census Bureau announced that all took a sharp turn for the better in 2015, the first time since 1999 that the three measures improved in the same year. The question now is whether the new data will inspire a deeper discussion about how to keep making progress. (9/13)
Bloomberg:
How Many Are Insured Because of Obamacare? Great Question
How many people have gained coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act? That depends on who you ask -- and how you ask. ... we have … too many numbers. We have a poll from Gallup, which suggests that the number of uninsured people has fallen from a high of 18 percent in 2013 to 11 percent today, which would give us about 22 million people. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control suggests that the number of uninsured has declined roughly 22 million since 2013, and 17.8 million since 2010 (darn you, financial crisis!). And today we got data from the Census Bureau, which suggests that the number of uninsured people has fallen from 13.3 percent to 9.1 percent since 2013, or by about 12.8 million. (Megan McArdle, 9/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
Clinton’s Stealthy Single-Payer Gambit
To rescue President Obama’s health-care law, Hillary Clinton has proposed resurrecting the “public option.” This failed idea—a government-run health-care plan to compete with private insurers—can’t save ObamaCare. But introducing it across the country would move the U.S. much closer to the single-payer system progressives have always longed for. Mrs. Clinton positions the states as vehicles for the public option, and this isn’t because she discovered a late-in-life appreciation for federalism. Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, a little-known provision, allows states to renounce almost all of ObamaCare’s dictates. (Scott Gottlieb, 9/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Trump Plan Will Help Working Mothers
We all agree that women should have equal pay for equal work, but that’s not enough. The lack of quality, affordable child care is one of the biggest challenges facing American parents. ... My father, in his campaign for president, has proposed a plan to bring federal policies in line with the needs of today’s working parents. (Ivanka Trump, 9/13)
The Washington Post:
Trump’s Maternity Leave Plan Looks A Lot Like Bill Clinton’s From 1999
Donald Trump released Tuesday a paid maternity leave plan — the first from a Republican presidential nominee. The measure, a pillar of the real estate mogul’s child-care proposal, bears close resemblance to an idea floated by Bill Clinton in 1999. Trump’s plan would guarantee six weeks of paid maternity leave to women; currently, federal policy provides only 12 weeks of unpaid time off. He would fund the change by tweaking the unemployment insurance employers must provide under federal law, according to the campaign. (Danielle Panquette, 9/13)
Health Affairs Blog:
A Reprieve For Women: Embracing Inclusive Scientific Research
Historically, understanding a woman’s unique biology and developing optimal interventions for women has been somewhat of a blind spot for medical research. For much of the 20th century, scientists favored enrolling men in large clinical trials. Men were considered easier and safer to study because of the risk of women becoming pregnant mid-trial, among other reasons. Findings from studies in men were considered applicable to women, despite the fact that even beyond the reproductive system, a woman’s body differs significantly from a man’s, with variations in organ function, immune responses, and metabolism. (Barbra Streisand and Anthony S. Fauci, 9/13)
Des Moines Register:
Is Obama Hearing Iowans' Medicaid Concerns?
It has been more than five months since Gov. Terry Branstad handed over administration of Medicaid to for-profit insurers. Elderly Iowans have lost in-home care workers. Patients cannot get prescriptions refilled. Managed care companies are not paying health providers, forcing some of them to borrow money to stay afloat or close. The governor has refused to address these and other problems. Will the Obama administration, which allowed Branstad to pursue privatization, ignore them, too? (9/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Yes On Proposition 52 To Keep Medi-Cal Funded
So, faced with an enormous Medi-Cal bill and insufficient help from Washington, the state Legislature decided in 2009 to game the system. It imposed a tax on private hospitals, nominally to raise more money to pay for Medi-Cal. ... The Legislature has been approving the tax on a temporary basis, and it is currently set to expire at the end of next year. Proposition 52, which is sponsored by the California Hospital Assn. and backed by a spectrum of healthcare-industry groups, would write the current law into the state Constitution, making the tax permanent .... Generally speaking, it’s better for voters not to tie lawmakers’ hands on the budget. But the tradeoff presented by Proposition 52 is, on balance, a fair one. (9/13)
San Antonio Press Express:
STAR Kids Will Provide Better Health Care For State’s Needy Children
Senate Bill 7 (2013) directed the Health and Human Services Commission to create a tailored managed care program for 180,000 children and young adults under the age of 21 who have disabilities. On Nov. 1, those Medicaid clients will move into the new STAR Kids program, where they will receive comprehensive, coordinated and high quality care. Many of the kids are from the San Antonio area. Those in the new program will join more than 80 percent of the Texans on Medicaid already in managed care programs. (Charles Smith, 9/13)
Stat:
Vouchers And Incentives Can Increase Kidney Donations And Save Lives
The chronic organ shortage in this country is a well-known scourge, so any good idea for recruiting more organ donors is always welcome. Bravo, then, to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and its voucher plan for kidney donors. It basically lets an individual donate a kidney to a stranger now and get a certificate for a future kidney transplant for a loved one. (Sally Satel, 9/13)
Dallas Morning News:
Workplace Wellness Programs Are A Total Sham
The history of wellness programs is inextricable from the history of rising health care costs in America. According to data from the federal government's National Health Expenditure Account, overall American health care spending almost quintupled between 1980 and 2014, from $634 billion to $3.03 trillion (all in 2014 dollars). Since companies are always looking for ways to slow rising health costs, the idea behind wellness programs sounds like a win-win. Throughout the 1990s, federal regulations kept workplace wellness programs in check. Companies were allowed to offer modest financial incentives, but the rewards could be tied only to participation, not to outcomes. (L.V. Anderson, 9/13)
Dallas Morning News:
Graying Population Will Challenge Texas To Pay For Care
Texas' population is as diverse as its geography, but one thing remains constant: Texas, like the nation at large, is growing older. Among the 50 states, Texas has the third-largest population of adults 60 and older, a number approaching 3.1 million. Demographers predict that the older population of the state could expand to more than 8 million by 2040. As a consequence, Texas will face serious challenges in providing for an older population, and Hispanics may bear the biggest impact. Texas lawmakers need to take notice. (Jacqueline Angel, 9/13)
Lexington Herald Leader:
Focused, Coordinated Approach Key To Preventing Student Suicides
World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10 honors the lives lost to suicide and those touched by these deaths, and highlights the need for better suicide prevention and help for those left in its tragic wake. Suicide death and suicidal thinking and behavior are problems on Kentucky college campuses. For a growing number of young adults, the mounting pressures of college can lead to depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. (Melinda Moore, 9/13)
Kansas City Star:
Missouri Will Lose If Congress Interferes With Wireless Lifeline
Lifeline is now being expanded to include broadband services, with an eye to closing the “homework gap” for schoolkids. In Missouri only about one in four homes that could benefit from Lifeline are enrolled in it — there are an estimated 689,000 households in the state that qualify for the federal program — people currently getting Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income, for example. That is why talk in Washington, D.C., about further restricting the Lifeline program should be regarded with deep concern in Missouri and elsewhere. (Rose Eichelberger and Ken McEldowney, 9/13)
San Jose Mercury News:
San Jose Must Deliver On Managing Medical Marijuana
There is no question that San Jose residents want legal medical marijuana delivery. In fact 69 percent of residents polled are in favor of delivery. The real question is whether policymakers will do anything about it. The poll, commissioned by Eaze and completed by Tusk Ventures, asked more than 500 San Jose residents their opinions regarding medical marijuana. The results revealed a desire for common sense medical marijuana policies, particularly when it comes to delivery. (Keith McCarty, 9/13)